OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Julie K. Silver, M.D.

***An Interview With Breast Cancer Survivor Dr. Julie K. Silver

Book Review:  What Helped Get Me Through 

Book Review: Taking Care of Your "Girls"

Book Review:  From the Heart: Eight Rules to Live By


Are Breast Self Examinations Unnecessary?

***There is No "Normal" With Breast Cancer

Walnuts Slow Breast Cancer Growth

***Cancer Epidemic is Preventable

New Poll Finds Women Unaware of Some Breast Cancer Risks

***Drinking Alcohol Promotes Cancer

Fly American and Help Save Lives

***Breast Cancer Disparities

Choices in Breast Cancer Treatment


DIET BITES

As a forty-year-old woman you don’t often feel that a second lease on life is attainable. As a forty-year-old woman struggling to get up the stairs because of an excess 70 pounds around my middle I knew this just wasn’t an option. I had to turn my thinking around completely and gear up for the greatest challenge of my life as I faced the fact that I was overweight and unhealthy.--Tosca Reno

Weight loss remains a tough nut to crack, but with the right match between program and person, the right social support system, a level of determination and commitment, it can be done.--Jonny Bowden

33 percent of Americans – some 71 million people – are on a diet.--Wendy Chant

When weight loss is rapid, there are even more negative effects on body. Sometimes this is only noticed later, after weight loss stops and you hit a plateau.--Cathy Wong

Did you know that your diet may contribute more to global warming than your car does?--Sally Kneidel

Learning to think like a thin person involves a retraining of the brain known as Cognitive Therapy--Judith Beck




THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:

   WHAT REALLY MATTERS?


The Debate--What Did You See?

The Debates--Will There Be Assurance?


What Do Barack Obama And John McCain Have In Common?

Who Will Be Our Visionary Leader?

Primary Care Crisis Will Doom Universal Coverage And You

Presidential Candidates On Long Term Care

Why We Can't Conserve Our Way Out of High Gas Prices

Who Will Write Our New Energy Laws?

Climate Change: A New President's Challenge

Political Promises, Healthcare, and Our Big Fat American Diet

Yin, Yang, Yikes, and Yuck!  May the Final Campaign Begin

Turning The Nation Around: From The Bottom Up

Social Security Retirement Age to Climb

Can Obama Save The Endangered Species Act?

With Gustav Republicans And Democrats Show Their True Colors

Conservative Women May Decide The Outcome of the U.S. Election

Why Obama Beat The Clintons

Where The Presidential Candidates Stand on Social Security And Medicare

Obama-Biden '08: Sounds Like "No We Can't"

Obama's Next Challenge--Going From "Yes We Can" To "Yes We Will"

She Was No Michelle O

On Presidential Candidates And National Conventions--Who Do YOU Trust?

Carpooling With Barack Obama


Who Will Be President For 1,460 Days?

Poll Speculating On Presidential Politics: How To Pick A Winner

The Big Night--Does Obama Need A Tune Up?

Why Are Americans Waiting For The VP Pick?

Oil Speculators And Presidential Politics


McCain, Obama, And The Politics of Homogenizing Autism

Retirement Professionals Overwhelmingly Prefer McCain To Represent Retirees' Interests

Senator McCain To Share His Cancer Plan

The Creation of The Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation


McCain Is Clear of Skin Cancer

On The Eve of a New Election--Former Vice President Al Gore Leads The Way Forward 

Candidates For President Speak Up On Cancer

Barack Obama's Wholly Un-American Speech

Campaign '08 And The Politics of Meaning


"We" An Idea Whose Time Has Come

How Much Would Universal Coverage Cost Us?

Barack Obama Dares Us To Recover

Who's Winning The Race Online?



FUTURE FEATURES

Charles Barber

Jonny Bowden

Kate Bracy

Eric Braverman

Brenda Della Casa

Maynard S. Clark

Glenn Croston

Julie Gabriel

Mark Goulston

Trisha Gura

Jessie Gruman

Nancy Grant

Mark Hyman

Annabel Karmel

Dean Karnazes

Shobha S. Krishnan

Matthew Lesko

Davis Liu

Brian Moore

Michael Ozner

Steve Parker

Alex Pattakos

Lucy Puryear

Mark Reinfeld

Arthur Rosenfeld

Stacey Rubin

Fritz Scheffel

Tracey Seaman

David Servan-Schreiber

Tanya Steel

Julie K. Silver



PARTNERS
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Blog Action Day (October 15th) is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.  This year's theme is Poverty and its ensuing repercussions.  Basil & Spice authors will proudly participate in this worldwide awareness effort.




HOT REVIEWS

Coming Up:
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce & Recovery
Prisoners of Our Thoughts
Unexpected Blessings




Robin Roberts's Eight Rules to Live By

Mark Goulston's The 6 Secrets of a Lasting Relationship

Marisa Weiss and Isabel Friedman's Taking Care of Your Girls

Dawn Jackson Blatner's The Flexitarian Diet

Julie K. Silver's What Helped Get Me Through

Amy Weschler's The Mind-Beauty Connection

Barry Sears's Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad

Sloan Barnett's Green Goes With Everything

Jenny McCarthy's Mother Warriors

Kenneth Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies

Carolyn Bernstein's The Migraine Brain

Eric Braverman's Younger You

David Servan-Schreiber's Anticancer: A New Way of Life

Newt Gingrich's Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less

Suzanne Somers's BreakThrough

Woodson Merrell's The Source

Lisa Lillien's Hungry Girl

Jennifer McCann's Vegan Lunch Box

Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious

Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Cookbook

Dean Ornish's The Spectrum

Oz Garcia's Redesigning 50

Khaliah Ali's  Fighting Weight

Nicholas Perricone's Ageless Face, Ageless Mind

Martha Stout's Paranoia Switch

Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer

Peter Walsh--Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?

David Zinczenko's Eat This Not That For Kids

David Zinczenko's Eat This Not That

Manny Alvarez's The Hot Latin Diet

Children's Nutrition Books

Kerry and Chris Shook's One Month to Live

Julie K. Silver's Super Healing

Mark Ukra's The Ultimate Tea Diet

Greg Isaac's 10,000 Steps A Day
Friday
10Oct

Pecan Muffins Recipe

Robert Ferguson, M.S., C.N., is a Performance Nutritionist to the Boxing Elite and Founder of the Food Lovers Fat Loss System  and DietFreeLife.  Mr. Ferguson is the author of Conquering The Munchie Monster. Print

Muffins make for great morning, afternoon and evening snacks when they're made with ingredients that boost your metabolism instead of slowing it. Make these "anytime" muffins for your friends and family without telling them that they're waistline friendly. In 20 minutes you'll be biting into some deliciously tasty muffins that go well with coffee or tea. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour when possible)
  • 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 3 TBSP stone-ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 6 TBSP low-fat buttermilk
  • 2 TBSP agave nectar, brown rice or maple syrup (organic when possible)
  • 3 tsp Earth Balance or Smart Balance buttery spread
  • 1/3 tsp almond extract
  • 2 large egg white
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 3 TBSP chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups and level with knife. Combine flours, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl. Blend and make a well in center of mixture.

Then combine buttermilk, syrup, butter, almond extract and egg white. Whisk and stir well. Then add to dry mixture and stir until moist.

Spray 6 cup muffin holder with non-stick cooking spray and spoon tin batter. Sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove from pans immediately, cool and enjoy!

Serves: 6

Proportion: 1 muffin makes for a snack for women, 2 for men

The Best Low-Fat Carrot Muffin Recipe

Scrumptious Banana Bread


Wednesday
08Oct

Kid's Pick: Brown Rice Sandwich Rolls

Tracey Seaman, a single mom of two adolescents, is the test kitchen director for Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine, and has been a food editor, stylist, and recipe developer for over two decades. Among the many publications she has contributed to or worked: Food & Wine, Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, and Martha Stewart Kids. She lives with her family in New Jersey. Seaman is also a coauthor of Real Food for Healthy Kids, (HarperCollins, 2008).


Tracey Seaman--

Brown Rice Sandwich Rolls

The inspiration for these moist and tender rolls, which are better than anything you can buy, and great for sandwiches and toasting, came from my friend Karen Antone, a mom who is the salt of the earth. There are a lot of ingredients, but once you have measured them out and combined them, mixing and making these rolls is easy. The dough resembles thick cookie dough, which is too moist for kneading and is best portioned out with an ice-cream scoop that has a release lever. You can use all brown rice flour or a mixture of brown and white rice flours.

1 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

1 teaspoon sugar

One 1/4- ounce packet active dry yeast

1/2 cup GF vanilla- flavored rice milk, at room temperature

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, or quinoa flour

(see Cooks’ Notes)

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup potato flour, plus more for forming rolls

1/3 cup ground flaxseed (optional)

1 tablespoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons GF baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Place the warm water in a glass measuring cup; stir in the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top, stir to mix, and let stand.

2. Meanwhile, combine the rice milk, honey, oil, vinegar, and eggs in a medium bowl and beat with a fork or a whisk to blend.

3. Combine the brown rice flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato fl our, flaxseeds, if using, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a standing electric mixer with the paddle attachment.

Mix at low speed until the dry ingredients are well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and then pour in the yeast mixture and the eggs mixture. Mix at low speed until well blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to mature the flavors.

4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 1⁄3- cup-capacity ice- cream scoop, scoop out 12 scoops of dough, spacing the mounds evenly on the sheet. Place another half- scoop on top of each mound and, working with floured hands (using more potato fl our), lightly shape each mound into a smooth ball. Return to the parchment and shape into a patty (like an English muffin) 3⁄4 inch high. Cover with a towel and let rest while you preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Bake the rolls in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden on top, golden brown underneath, and hollow sounding when you tap on top with your fi nger. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Cooks’ Notes

✤ Sorghum, buckwheat, and quinoa fl ours all have specific flavors they lend to the rolls. Any of them is a good choice because they add protein and fiber, but because they are intense, we only suggest a small amount; you can also substitute rice flour for any of them in this recipe. Brown rice flour is also more nutritious than white rice flour.

✤ The addition of tapioca and potato flours and xanthan gum adds chewy texture to the rolls and should not be substituted.

Phillip A., twelve, of Leonardo, New Jersey, loves these rolls with a hamburger or sliced turkey for lunch at school.

Prep: 20 minutes plus resting and cooling

Baking: 20 minutes

Makes 1 dozen 3- to 4- inch rolls

per roll:

273 calories, 8g fat

(1g saturated),

46g carbohydrates,

3g fiber, 5.5g protein 

More From Tracey Seaman--

Autism and The Gluten-and-Dairy-Free Diet


Tuesday
07Oct

Teach Your Children Well: Embracing Their Inner Spinach Lover

Photo by Stephen Sullivan

Tanya Wenman Steel is Editor-in-Chief of the award-winning Epicurious.com, CondéNet's premier food website, named the Best Food Website of 2008 by the James Beard Foundation. Steel is also a coauthor of Real Food for Healthy Kids, (HarperCollins, 2008).

Prior to joining Epicurious.com, Steel was the New York editor of Bon Appétit magazine for ten years. In addition to running the New York branch office, she wrote and edited columns and features, including the monthly "Restaurant Reporter." Ms. Steel won the prestigious James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Magazine Restaurant Review or Critique in 2003. She is a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors and a James Beard Restaurant Judge. She has been in the publishing industry for over 20 years.

Prior to Bon Appétit, she was an editor at Diversion, Food & Wine, and Mademoiselle magazines. Steel has also written extensively for many other publications, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Child, McCall's, Nick Jr., and Cosmopolitan.

Steel appears frequently on The Today Show, as well as Good Morning America, The Early Show, Inside Edition, Access Hollywood, ABC News Now, Weekend Today, Today in New York, and other shows on networks like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Food Network.


Tanya Wenman Steel--

Consider this the opening salvo in the war for your child's heart, mind, and stomach.

Last year, several cookbooks were published that advocated hiding foods within other more child-friendly foods in order to ensure your child gets his or her daily nutrition. Sneaking pureed spinach into brownies or beet puree into chicken nuggets is the basic premise of these books, and I can think of no worse culinary or child-rearing philosophy. Longtime food writer Mimi Sheraton addressed this issue on Slate.com in her article "Lie to Your Children—It's Good for Them; The Terribly Wrong Message Sent by Jessica Seinfeld and Missy Chase Lapine." Sheraton's first argument with this practice is "children get the wrong message that sweets and starches are good for them….With the dangerous rise of childhood obesity and diabetes, do we really want to encourage the eating of sugars and starches?" Sheraton also objects to the concept of hiding these so-called icky foods and thus deceiving your child: "Lying to children via trickery—even 'for their own good'—can feed a lifetime of distrust, as it should."

Sheraton is completely right. Encouraging kids to eat foods that should, actually, only be eaten in moderation might be  setting them up for a lifetime of weight problems. And, I believe you should lie to your child only in extreme situations and when it comes to the existence of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

Another problem with this deceptive practice is the implicit message that vegetables, specifically, are so awful that they have to be hidden in order to be palatable. This is the opposite of what we should be teaching children. Children should be introduced at the earliest age possible to the tastes and textures of healthy fresh produce, especially produce—the crispness of a sugar snap pea, the sweetness of a carrot, the butteriness of edamame, the ripe, juicy of a tomato. It can take a child up to 12 times of trying a food before his or her palate becomes adjusted to the taste, texture and smell. And for those who scorn anything green, there are myriad ways to easily prepare veggies that would satisfy even the pickiest child. Veggies, both the raw and the cooked, should be on every dinner plate and sampled, every single night, until favorites are found.

In our new cookbook, Real Food for Healthy Foods, Tracey Seaman and I have numerous tips as to how to get kids to eat vegetables. And we follow that up with dozens of healthy, wholesome recipes that use fresh veggies. Each of the 200 plus recipes has been taste-tested by kids from around the country, so we know these will be a hit with kids everywhere.

With farmer's markets brimming with vibrant greens and luscious fruits, there is no better time than now to teach your child to embrace his or her inner spinach lover, and thus instill a lifetime of healthy and happy eating habits. 

Take A Sneak Peak Inside At HarperCollins

Keep Your Child Safe From Poisonous Additives

Autism and The Gluten-and-Dairy-Free Diet


Tuesday
07Oct

Soup's On: Leeky Chicken Soup

Seven years ago, author Janice Taylor, permanently removed over 50 pounds of excess weight. She utilized weight loss as a vehicle for reinvention and transformation. Taylor has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, New York Times, New York Post, New York Daily News, Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun Times, Fitness magazine, Health magazine, CNN.com, Religion and Spirituality, has appeared on View from the Bay, San Francisco, Discovery Health, Naomi’s New Morning, Hallmark Channel, FitTV.

She is a Life & Wellness Coach, Certified Hypnotist, Neurolinguistic Practitioner, as well as the author of All Is Forgiven, Move On: Our Lady of Weight Loss’s 101 Fat-burning Steps on Your Journey to Sveltesville (May 2008) and Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal (Fall 2006.) Janice is also the creator of the very popular e-newsletter Kick in the Tush Club, and a syndicated blogger for Beliefnet .

Taylor leads workshops at a number of wellness centers across America, including Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York, The Crossings, Austin, Texas and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, The Berkshires, Massachusetts.

Taylor is a member of the International Coach Federation, Association for Integrative Psychology, CIVA (Christians In the Visual Arts). She has studied at New York Society of Ericksonian Psychotherapy and Hypnosis, American Pacific University, NLP Center of New York and New York University. She is also a co-founder of artHARLEM, a grassroots Harlem, New York art organization.

Janice Taylor--

A twist on the traditional, I call this "Grandma's New Age Penicillin."

Fun Factoid: Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed the leek as a cure for nosebleeds.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 medium leeks, trimmed, sliced, and well-washed (approx. 2 cups)
2 large baking potatoes, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
1 bunch parsley, chopped
8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (There are some great brands now that are organic and low-sodium.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:
  1. Heat the oil in a 6-quart pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the leeks, potatoes and carrots.
  3. Sauté until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. (If you feel that you need more oil, try adding a bit of water instead.)
  4. Add the parsley, broth, salt, and pepper.
  5. Bring to a boil.
  6. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 40 minutes or until tender.

Soup's On:

Chicken and Tofu

California Veggie 

Creamy Pumpkin Tofu


Monday
06Oct

Chocolate Tofu Parfait

Robert Ferguson, M.S., C.N., is a Performance Nutritionist to the Boxing Elite and Founder of the Food Lovers Fat Loss System  and DietFreeLife.  Mr. Ferguson is the author of Conquering The Munchie Monster.
                              
Robert Ferguson--


Chocolate Tofu Parfait  makes for a perfect snack following dinner or as part (Fast Carb) of your meal when making a Food Lovers Fat Loss Plate. Made with tofu, one serving is only 150 calories. It's recommended that you avoid telling your guests that this delicious treat is made with tofu as they'll never know. Well, they won't know until you give them the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (16 oz) package of tofu (Silken Firm or Extra Firm)
  • 1/3 cup coffee (regular or decaf)
  • 1 TBSP honey or brown rice syrup
  • 1 (11.5 oz) packcage 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli preferred)
  • 2 cups non-fat Greek Yogurt (FAGE or Trader Joe's preferred)

Method:

Melt chocolate chips in microwave, double boiler or sauce pan (your preference). Then blend coffee, tofu and honey until smooth and added melted chocolate. Continue blending until well mixed and smooth.

With spatula, gently gold in Greek yogurt. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or until firm.

Serves: 12

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 150 calories (3 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fat, 0 grams of fiber). 

Robert's other favorite desserts:

Chocolate Ricotta Creme

Fruit Salsa With Cinnamon Chips